Fenty Beauty: Rihanna's Makeup Launch! (2017)

On September 8th Rihanna launched her very own makeup brand, Fenty Beauty. Her, her team, and any and everyone involved in the creation or launch of this brand kept it top secret and confidential. In my opinion, that was a smart move. Today, a brand can't release anything without having the success or failure of it based solely on whether or not the Youtube beauty gurus with millions of subscriber enjoys the product. This way, everything was kept a mystery and unbiased. If you wanted to find out if you'd like something, you actually had to go out and see for yourself. Being the makeup lover that I am, and having the huge crush on Rihanna that I've had since I was young, I was one of those that jumped out on launch day to get what I could.

I managed to get myself at least one of everything, excluding the tools (which admittedly, I regret, but my bank account wouldn't allow it at the time!) I kept making jokes that I didn't buy something from Fenty, but instead simply bought Fenty. Ever since my purchase I've been wearing a full #fentyface, and feel I've given each product a fair chance to show how they perform.

Let's start with what truthfully has everyone buzzing, whether you found something else from the line you enjoyed or not, these Killawatt Freestyle Highlighters have been a huge hit. I got mine in the Mean Money/Hu$tla Baby duo as I believed it would work best for my skin tone. The left side of these duo highlighters features a soft-lit, natural glow type of shade. Perfect for the center of the face, day time, or those people that like to look like they glow from within. The right side is a blinding supercharged, almost wet-looking highlight, that I tend to favor. These powder highlighters are set in clean, sleek white packaging in her brand's signature honeycomb shape. It's also paired with a mirror, a perfect product for on the go!
Killawatt Freestyle Highlighters retail for $34 each.

The star of the show for me, however, is the Fenty Pro Filtr Instant Retouch Primer & Soft Matte Foundation. I had the privilege of swatching this before the actual launch date, and truth be told I was completely convinced I was going to hate them—specifically the foundation—but to my surprise they're a new holy grail of mine. The primer has a really smooth feel to it, not the same type of pore-clogging feel that your average silicone primer gives, but rather a soft and soothing type of feeling. It smooths out your pores and any texture you might have, almost making it look like you've got a filter on your face irl. That's probably how they came up with the name. Then you've got the foundation, which I believe truly works wonders for any and all skin types. Now I'd say the finish of this foundation varies from soft matte to true matte, depending on how you've applied it. I've noticed that when I apply with a brush, it dries down more matte than it does when I apply with a sponge. I normally steer clear from any matte foundations because of my dry skin type, but I'll be restocking this product again and again. I'll keep backups. This foundation is going with me everywhere. It's passed the test of time, as one day I wore it for 14 hours straight without a bit of it budging. I've worn it in the shower, and it still looked untouched post-shower. You can hug someone in a white shirt without seeing your face print on it and it looks absolutely flawless on the skin. This foundation comes in 40 different shades (with more to come!) and has one of the most extensive and inclusive shade range, especially for just a launch, of any brand I can think of. My favorite bit about this foundation is that it's the only foundation I've ever worn that I haven't had to set with a powder!
Pro Filtr Instant Retouch Primer for $32 and Pro Filtr Soft Matte Foundation for $34.

Next in line is the Match Stix Matte & Shimmer Skinsticks. The Matte Match Sticks can be used for concealing and contouring, whereas the Shimmer Match Sticks are for highlighting/strobing. Fenty Beauty offers a Match Stix Trio which, when you do the math, is an absolute steal. You're practically getting a whole Match Stix for free. The Trio comes in 4 different shade sets, whereas the individual Match Stix come in 30 shades including both Matte and Shimmer. I picked up one of the trios in the lightest set, giving me the Match Stix in Linen, Amber, and Starstruck. I then picked up 3 more individual Match Stix in French Vanilla, Confetti, and yet again Starstruck—I obviously fell in love with that color to go ahead and buy a second. They apply like creams but dry down to powder, making them extremely easy to blend out over top of any product. They're easy enough to blend out with your fingers if you're dealing with a time crunch but I enjoy blending them out with a brush as well. The Shimmer Match Stix look stunning when you then layer on top one of the Killawatt highlighters.
Match Stix Matte Skinstick for $25, Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick for $25, Match Stix Trio for $54.

To finish your whole look off Rihanna has hooked us up with a gorgeous universal lipgloss that she calls "Gloss Bomb". The gloss has a faint rose shade to it with gold reflects, making it look a little different but luscious on everyone's lips. It features an XXL wand, for easy one-swipe application. It has a delicious sweet scent to it, but not too overpowering. It's the most hydrating gloss I own, so much to the point that I can feel it even long after the gloss has been removed. It's the perfect top-off to your Fenty Face, which aims to be an enhancement of your natural beauty.
Universal Gloss Bomb Lip Luminizer for $18.

All-in-all I'd say the Fenty Beauty launch was a huge hit and not a single product in my opinion was a let down. I've been using these products on both myself and my clients consistently since the launch and haven't had a single problem matching anyone. I'll be excited to see how she plans to extend the shade range, and I'll be one of the first to jump out to purchase any new products Fenty Beauty releases because as it's looking at the moment, they won't disappoint!